The present invention relates to syringes that are used for injecting medication.
Injecting medication is a somewhat cumbersome process, involving repositioning of the hands and excessive movement after the syringe needle has been inserted into the tissue. Conventional syringes are constructed with the plunger immediately behind and aligned with the axis of the needle. Because of this arrangement and the need to insert the syringe needle and then to check its position in the tissue before injecting medication, the user must manipulate the syringe twice during the process.
The person administering the injection is required to perform several steps. First, the user will hold the syringe like a dart in order to have a firm grip while inserting the needle. Upon inserting the needle into the injection site, the user will reposition his hands so as to be able to pull the plunger out slightly, creating a small amount of suction, in order to verify that the tip of the needle is not in a blood vessel. Next, the user must again reposition his hands to push the plunger and thereby inject medication into the tissue. This injection process is not only cumbersome and inefficient, but may also cause needless discomfort to the patient.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved syringe that would reduce excess movement of the hands during an injection.
According to its major aspects and broadly stated, the present invention is an improved syringe that does not require the user to reposition his hands during any portion of the injection. The syringe comprises a housing having a plunger slidably disposed therein for expelling medication through a needle when the plunger is pressed. Instead of having the needle aligned with the same axis of the plunger, however, the needle port is located on the side of the housing at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the plunger. This frees the end wall of the housing for the index finger of the user, to be used in opposition to the thumb pressing the handle of the plunger. With this configuration, the housing can be gripped between a finger and thumb, with one of the fingers on the handle and the other finger on the end wall of the housing. Rings on the plunger handle and end wall of the housing enable better control especially when pulling the plunger slightly to create suction in the housing.
A major feature of the present invention is the angle between the plunger and needle port. With this arrangement, the ends of the syringe can be held by the thumb and index finger, with the needle extending off to the side at an angle. This feature allows the present syringe to be held in the same position with the same hand during insertion of the needle and throughout the injection process. Upon insertion of the needle, the user simply separates his fingers to create suction in order to determine if the tip of the needle is in a blood vessel. Next, the user simply squeezes his fingers together to inject the medication into the patient. During both operations, the present syringe is held in the same dart-like fashion as it is for inserting the needle into the tissue.
A major advantage of the present invention is that the present syringe is held in the same way throughout the injection process with no need to reposition the hands of the one administering the injection. This allows the procedure to be performed more quickly and without the discomfort that results from lateral movement of the needle of the prior art syringe during repositioning of the hands.
Another feature of the present invention is the use of rings on the syringe. With the rings, the user can move the plunger in either direction easily, expelling the medication and creating suction, without removing or repositioning his hands on the syringe.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a careful reading of the Detailed Description of a Preferred Embodiment presented below and accompanied by the drawings.